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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. content — happy
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cue — a hint
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cue — a signal
  16. net — in sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. content — the amount
  19. scale — in music
  20. cue — for pool
  21. tear — to rip
  22. net — after costs
  23. foot — a measure
  24. net — for catching

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com